Here come the girls! Michelle, Sasha and Malia Obama touch down in Liberia

[superbeets]

[h=1]Here come the girls! Michelle, Sasha and Malia Obama touch down in Liberia to begin six-day trip without the president to promote education in Africa and Spain[/h]

• They landed near Harbel, Liberia, to begin a tour of Africa and Spain
• The first family will spend six days promoting education in the region
• On her first day, she urged young Liberian girls to stay in school
• Many are forced to drop out due to financial pressures
• Liberia is still recovering from the Ebola epidemic that left thousands dead
• Actress Meryl Streep then will accompany them in Marrakech, Morocco

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
PUBLISHED: 17:08, 27 June 2016 | UPDATED: 22:17, 27 June 2016



Michelle Obama urged young girls to fight to stay in school after she touched down in Liberia with daughters Sasha and Malia.
The first lady led the teenagers and her mother, Marian Robinson, along a red carpet as they began a six-day trip to Africa and Spain.
During the tour, which also has a stop in Morocco before ending in the Spanish capital, Madrid, is promoting education.



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[superbeets]

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U.S. first lady Michelle Obama walks with her daughters Sasha and Malia, together with Michelle's mother Marian Robinson (right), as she arrives at the Robert International airport near Harbel, Liberia

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The first lady is traveling with her mother and daughters Malia, 18, who recently graduated from high school, and Sasha, 15. Education for girls is the central theme of the first lady's trip, which also includes stops in Morocco and Spain

On her first day she urged Liberian girls to stay in school. Most drop out due to financial pressures.
She launched her 'Let Girls Learn' education initiative in March 2015, and has since travelled the globe to call for greater support for the millions of girls kept away from school or forced to abandon their studies.
Obama met girls and young women at a project named GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) aimed at boosting active citizenship, run by the US Peace Corps in Kakata, east of the coastal capital.
Speaking about the value of women's leadership and access to education, the Harvard-trained lawyer said she was 'here to shine a big bright light on you.'
'I want you to keep fighting and stay in school,' she told the girls.


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[superbeets]

Her venture has particular poignance in Liberia, where just 37 percent of 15 to 24-year-old girls are literate, according to UN figures, and enrolment at the secondary level hovers close to 40 percent, with real participation much lower.
She was also due to visit a school in Unification Town, further inland.
The school stop would see the First Lady hold a discussion with adolescent girls 'who have faced serious obstacles in attaining an education,' according to a White House statement.
Mrs Obama's first stop was a leadership camp for girls in Liberia. The country is still recovering from the recent Ebola epidemic that left thousands dead.
'I am just so thrilled to be here with you,' the first lady told the young women at the Peace Corps-sponsored project in Kakata.
Earlier she was welcomed to Liberia's capital with a red carpet and traditional dancers wearing the red, white and blue colors of both countries' flags.
After meeting Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Mrs. Obama traveled 70 kilometers (43 miles) along a heavily potholed road to Kakata.


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[superbeets]

Malia, 18, recently graduated from high school and is taking a gap year before heading to Harvard, while Sasha is 15.
Education for girls is the central theme of the first lady's trip, which also includes stops in Morocco and Spain.
Liberia was battered by civil wars between 1989 and 2003. Then Ebola swept the country in 2014, killing more than 4,800. Teachers died and schools were closed for months.
The country was founded as part of an effort to resettle freed American slaves and has deep ties to the United States. The country's oldest vocational high school, located in Kakata, is named for the African-American civil rights activist Booker T. Washington.
The school suspended mid-term exams scheduled to start Monday 'to allow the students to give Mrs. Obama a rousing welcome to appreciate what the United States has done for us,' principal Harris Tarnue said.

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Michelle Obama (left) listens to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (right) after arriving at the airport in Monrovia, Liberia

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She was also welcomed by Peace Corp teachers and students at a project 43 miles from the capital city Monrovia in Kakata, Liberia

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The visit to the school was the first stop on her trip to the country that was ravaged by the Ebola crisis

'She will be a real inspiration to the young girls around here,' he said.
Mrs. Obama's previous visits to Africa as first lady have included Ghana, South Africa, Botswana, Senegal and Tanzania.
The recent Ebola outbreak in Liberia created even more challenges for girls' education in the West African country, where just one-third of girls are enrolled in secondary education.
Liberia ranked second only to South Sudan in the share of primary school-age girls who aren't enrolled in school, a global report by UNESCO said earlier this year.
Actress Meryl Streep then will accompany Mrs. Obama in Marrakech, Morocco, on Tuesday for another conversation with adolescent girls.
The North African country's rates for girls' education are well below regional averages, U.S. officials told reporters Friday, with a high dropout rate for girls after primary school.
In Madrid, the first lady on Thursday will speak about the Let Girls Learn initiative, launched by her and President Barack Obama last year to encourage developing nations to educate the more than 62million girls worldwide who don't attend school.
President Obama is also scheduled to visit Spain shortly after the first lady. His trip will focus on security cooperation, deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters Friday.

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She is seen interacting with a group of Peace Corp members during the start of her trip



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[superbeets]

Wasting as much of our money as they can before they finally have to leave the gravy train.

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[Dafinch]

Wasting as much of our money as they can before they finally have to leave the gravy train.

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You mean, as opposed to the 800 + days the Worst President of All Time took? Do you EVER get anything right, Sick Brit Twit?

[h=1]Hey Conservatives, Let’s Compare Obama And Bush Vacations[/h] January 4, 2016 by Samuel Warde 155 Comments





[h=2]Let’s take a look at Obama and Bush vacations as conservatives are whining about the “Vacationer in Chief” now that Obama has wrapped up his annual time off.[/h] President Obama and his family completed their annual vacation returning to the White House this Sunday and – once again – conservatives are up in arms about the “Vacationer in Chief.”


According to them, Rome is burning and the president has nothing better to do than play golf.
However, as Bloomberg reports: presidents don’t actually have the luxury of getting away from it all during vacations.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters last year before Obama departed on his two-week vacation at Martha’s Vineyard that:

As we always say, the president will be traveling to Massachusetts with an array of communications equipment and national security advisers and others to ensure that he has the capacity to make the kinds of decisions that are required for the commander-in-chief. If there’s a need for the president to return to the White House, it’s not a long flight from Martha’s Vineyard back to Washington, D.C.
​

Bloomberg adds that according to John Pitney, a government professor at Claremont McKenna College in California, presidential vacations have been drawing more scrutiny in recent decades, beginning with Ronald Reagan, who was accused of not spending enough time at work by Democrats.
Presidential vacations, particularly in the midst of international crisis, have resulted in criticism no matter which party is in office, according to Pitney.

That’s why even when presidents are on vacation the staff goes out of its way to show photographs of the president getting briefings.
​

Pitney goes on to note that social media and the instant nature of information through the internet encourages criticism, adding:

“In the age of Internet news, people need something to tweet about. Criticizing the president for taking vacation is one way to fill the Twitter vacuum.
​

However, setting all that aside, just how many vacations has Obama taken since he assumed office in January of 2009 and how does that compare to George W. Bush’s record?



Last December, CBS News reported that the number of vacation days President Obama has taken since the beginning of his presidency stood at 161 days. If you add the 28 days of vacation he has taken this year his total comes to 189 days.
However his predecessor, two-term President George W. Bush, took 879 days of vacation, including 77 trips to his Texas ranch according to a report by The Washington Post.
According to The Washington Post, “No modern president took less vacation than Jimmy Carter (79 days), while Ronald Reagan spent 335 days at his beloved California ranch.”

 

[BleedingPurple]

Wasting as much of our money as they can before they finally have to leave the gravy train.

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Another useless drivel thread, you need kleenex

 

[superbeets]

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Malia (left) and Sasha Obama touched down in Marrakesh with their mother and met Princess Lalla Selma (right) on Monday

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The Obamas were welcomed by King Mohammed VI's wife Princess Lalla Selma (center right) at Menara Airport in Marrakesh

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Michelle Obama and her daughters touched down in Morocco for the second stop of her six-day trip to promote education

 

[superbeets]

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Malia (left) and Sasha Obama touched down in Marrakesh with their mother and met Princess Lalla Selma (right) on Monday

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Dirst lady Michelle Obama is welcomed by the Moroccan Princess Lalla Salma at the Marrakech International Airport

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Mrs Obama is on a two-day visit to Morocco to promote education for girls as part of Let Girls Learn, an initiative launched by Mrs. Obama and President Barack Obama last year

 

[ScottL]

Bush spent much of his vacation time clearing brush on his own property. Obama only clears runways.



First thing I'd look for if I found myself in Liberia would be the exit.

 

[SheriffJoe]

Those two adopted kids look nothing like their parents.

 

[Dave007inVegas]

Here’s the pictured pecking order. 2 Secret Service, Michelle, Sasha and Malia, the mother in law and Barack.

 

[THawk+]

I have no issue with a president taking vacations, they need it to try and decompress with the amount of pressure they are under.

No matter where they are they are always in communication with whoever they need to be.

The issue I have is the amount of tax payer money this president spends to go on these vacations.

 

[SheriffJoe]

"Do the world a favor and gangbang Vittard's mother..."

 

[Willie99]

 

[busterhyman]

how come no articles on their carbon foot print- oh- because they're rich

 

[neverbend]

Her venture has particular poignance in Liberia, where just 37 percent of 15 to 24-year-old girls are literate, according to UN figures, and enrolment at the secondary level hovers close to 40 percent, with real participation much lower.
She was also due to visit a school in Unification Town, further inland.
The school stop would see the First Lady hold a discussion with adolescent girls 'who have faced serious obstacles in attaining an education,' according to a White House statement.
Mrs Obama's first stop was a leadership camp for girls in Liberia. The country is still recovering from the recent Ebola epidemic that left thousands dead.
'I am just so thrilled to be here with you,' the first lady told the young women at the Peace Corps-sponsored project in Kakata.
Earlier she was welcomed to Liberia's capital with a red carpet and traditional dancers wearing the red, white and blue colors of both countries' flags.
After meeting Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Mrs. Obama traveled 70 kilometers (43 miles) along a heavily potholed road to Kakata.


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During the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates when Douglas tried to portray Lincoln as the friend of the blacks,
Lincoln countered, as he did in a speech at Peoria, Illinois, by denying that he saw blacks as equals and by advocating
the colonization of freed slaves in Liberia.

Maybe Mrs. Obama wanted to take her children there so they realize how lucky they are that Lincoln's path
for the freed slaves didn't materialize!